Apparatus for painting the notches in articles



Nov. l5, 1955 J. A. VALENTINE APPARATUS PoR PAINTING THR NoTcHRs IN ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 7, 1955 Nov. l5, 1955 1. A. VALENTINE 2,723,644

APPARATUS FOR PAINTING THE NOTCHES IN ARTICLES Filed April 7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Q Q Q 6/4 66] @60 62 @f90 APPARATUS FOR PAlNTlNG THE NTCHES iN ARTICLES Jesse A. Valentine, Detroit, Mich., assigner, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented bythe Secretary of the Navy Application April 7, 1953, Serial No. 347,196 9 Claims. (Cl. 11S-221) This invention relates to the art of painting articles while they are in motion and is useful particularly in applying metalized coatings in the edge notches of ceramic wafers as described in the copending applications Serial No. 324,160 and Serial No. 318,148 of Robert L. Henry. ln one of those applications the method of making electronic equipment, using ceramic wafers as basic elements, is claimed, and as a step of the method, it is stated that the notches are suppiled with coatings of metalized paint. The present invention with the embodiments comprehended thereby shows mechanical means for performing this operation, even though this operation could be performed by hand.

In the past there have been machines that paint stripes, patterns, etc. on articles; however, to our knowledge, no successful machine for applying a paint coating to the inner walls only of an article while it is being conveyed, has been conceived and reduced to a practical embodiment prior to our invention. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an article painter for applying, by adjustably mounted groups of paint discs, metalized or other coatings to the inner walls of edge notches in conveyed articles while they are in motion at a speed the same as the peripheral speed of the discs, and to maintain the discs properly wetted by periodically char ing the paint reservoirs in which the discs are disposed, with measured amounts of paint.

A more specic object of the invention is to provide groups of rotating paint applicator discs in confronting relationship to an article passage, the number of disc groups being dependent upon the number of sides of the articles to be painted, include means for the adjustment of the discs in two directions, that is, laterally of and into or from the article passage, and provide paint reservoirs in which the discs are operable with an adjustable support so that the reservoirs may be moved with respect to the discs in order to govern the extent of penetration of the discs into the paint contained in the reservoirs.

Other objects and features will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated form of the invention.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of the article painting mechanism, portions being shown in section to illustrate internal detail.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the reservoirs showing their placement on the reservoir support, and illustrating the general relative position of an article being conveyed through the article passage therebetween.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and in the direction of the arrows.

In instances where accuracy and speed are essential in the application of paint coatings to rather small articles, the invention may be used advantageously. The illustrated embodiment is designed specifically to apply a paint containing metal particles to the inner walls of the notches of wafer W, which incidentally is portrayed 2,723,644 Patented Nov. l5, 1955 slightly smaller than actual size. The paint must neither run nor smear because it is destined to be used as an electrical conductor in an electronic circuit, and must conduct solely along a single, predetermined path. The apparatus to be described hereunder accomplishes these, as well as other ends satisfactorily.

A frame 10 in Fig. l is used to support all of the components of the painting device and is of any suitable configuration. lt has a guide consisting of guide rods 12 and 14 depending therefrom on which sleeves 16 slide, the sleeves being pressed or otherwise fixed in apertures provided in a support 18. A hanger 2t) connects support 1S to the frame 10 by attachment to an eye or hanger pin 22 that is carried by frame 10. The hanger 20 is composed of an upper rod 24 with a hook 28 at one end to engage pin 22, and fureations at the opposite end between which adjustment cam 30 is disposed. There is a lower rod 32 welded or otherwise fixed at one end to support 18 and having a yoke 33 at the opposite end that forms a saddle for the cam 30 which is made of a block containing a earn slot 36 wherein a pin 38 slides. A pin 40 provided with a wrench accommodating end, is mounted for rotation in the yoke 33 and keyed to the cam block. Since pin 38 is fixed across and to the fureations of upper rod 24, the lower rod 32 and anything fixed to it will be adjusted vertically when the cam 30 is moved, the friction between pin 38 and cam slot 36 holding the lower rod 32 in the selected vertically adjusted position. The functioning of sleeves 16 sliding on rods 12 and 14 prevents any movement of the lower rod 32 except that which is truly vertical.

Support 18 is preferably a plate containing a recess 42 through which the article passage 44 extends. A conveyor 46 is mounted near the passage 44 and contains a number of spaced carriers 48 fixed in cantilever manner to the conveyor. Each carrier has a plurality of fingers 50 arranged to form a pocket in which a wafer W is deposited, and the fingers are so arranged that slots are left unblocked therebetween to allow access to the notches in the wafer edges. The wafer carriers almost wholly pass through the passage 44.

Since the wafer W has four sides in which there are notches to be painted, four painting heads are provided in superposition to the support 18, and there are paint reservoirs Si), 52, 54 and 56 for the heads, each being located on the upper surface of support 18 and fastened thereto, as by bolting. They overhang a portion of the recess 42, bringing them close to passage 44 wherein the wafer notches actually receive their coatings. The reservoirs are formed by trays that open upwardly and each contains a comb 53 for a group of paint applicator discs. Conduits 60, 62, 64 and 66 feed through apertures in the bottom of the reservoirs beneath the combs 58 so that the paint enters the reservoirs at a place very close to the point of application of paint tothe discs of the painting heads (see Fig. l). Each comb consists of a channel with slots in the web thereof, the disc passing through these slots.

Paint supply tank 68 is mounted on support 18 by way of a suitable bracket 70, and an outlet conduit 72 eX- tends therefrom, connecting to a paint manifold 74. A drain valve 76 is supplied at a low point in the manifold to serve its expected function. Manifold 74 feeds four pumps, the pistons 78, 8f), S2 and 84 of which are operated in unison by a presser bar 86. Solenoid 88 which is secured to support 18 has the presser bar S6 connected to its armature, and the pumps contained in a single housing 90 supported by support 1S through the use of hangers 92, have their outlets connected with conduits 60, 62, 64 and 66. In this way for a single stroke of the solenoid, each reservoir will be supplied with a predetermined charge of paint from the pumps. A conventional counter 51 operated in response to the number of wafers painted may be used to cause solenoid 88 to be actuated, in that way assuring that a proper paint level is maintained at all times in the reservoirs. Counter 51 has a shaft 53 on which is mounted a toothed counting wheel 55. Wires 61 and 57 connect the counter 51 in a circuit comprising wires 61, 57, solenoid 88 and a source of power 59. Thus, as an example, for every ten carriers 48 which strike the counting wheel 55, wheel 55 makes one revolution, and at each revolution contact is made within the counter 51, thus completing the circuit and causing the actuation of the armature of solenoid 88.

Attention is now invited to Fig. l where three of the four painting heads are shown, each being of identical construction and all being interchangeable. Each head consists of an L shaped housing 10i), the upper end of which has rails 102 slidable in tracks 104 that are fixed to the bottom of frame 1li. Thus, housing 100 in its entirety may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly of the wafers in passage 44. The means for effecting such an adjustment are a screw 1% operable in a threaded sleeve 108, suitable dials 107 being provided on the screw and sleeve and located on the exterior of the housing 100. In this regard, the sleeve may be threaded to the housing by a coarser thread for large adjustment, while the screw contains tine adjustment threads. This is a micrometer type assembly. The inner end of the screw has a circumferential slot 110 in which a U shaped key 112 is disposed, the key fitting also in a laterally opening slot 114 formed near the end of a worm 116 formed on or connected to a drive shaft. The screw has its inner end tted in a bore into which slot 114 opens and, presuming the shaft on which worm 116 is formed to be axially stationary, rotation of screw 106 by knob 107 will cause the housing to be slid in the tracks 10d. Housing 100 can be separated from the worm shaft by removing the key 112 and sliding the rails 102 from tracks 104. j

In each housing 160 there is a lower shaft 120 normal to worm 116 and spaced therefrom. Shaft 120 contains the paint applicator discs 122, the latter being removable for servicing and being of a suitable material such as fibre, felt, rubber or others. As seen in Fig. l, the discs ride in the slots of comb 58 and while in motion continually have paint applied thereto. The combs 58 also serve the function of keeping the discs straight, this being especially important to fibre or felt core discs.

Worm 116 has a gear 126 enmeshed therewith, the gear being mounted on a shaft 12S in housing 100, and a pulley 130 being fixed to that shaft. A double pulley 132 is disposed on a shaft 134 in housing 100, and a belt 136 extends thereover, it being engaged with pulley 130 and pulley 140 that is fixed to shaft 160. Thus, the pulleys with their belt 136 constitute a flexible drive connection between gear 126 and shaft 126, and the shaft 120 may be adjusted axially without affecting its operation. The

adjustment of shaft 120 takes place by rotating the knobs 142 that connect to a screw mechanism similar to the screw 166 and its associated adjusting mechanism.

in operation, the tank 68 is provided with a supply of metalized paint and the solenoid 8S put into operation to supply the reservoirs beneath the groups of paint appli- -cator discs. Thereafter, the solenoid 88 that operates the four pumps can be operated automatically as described previously. The worms 116, there being one for each housing 160, are actuated by any suitable source of power thereby causing the shafts 120 to be rotated. Conveyor 46 is actuated so as to move the wafers W through passage 44, and it is preferred that the same source of power actuate the worms 116 and the conveyor 46 since the peripheral speed of the discs must be the same as the speed of translation of the wafers W on conveyor 46. In this way when the edges of the discs 122 come into contact with the walls of the wafer notches there is no scraping action therebetween, but rather, the discs simply touch the notch walls thereby transfering paint from the discs to the notch walls.

The first few wafers to be painted in this way are observed carefully to determine whether the discs require any adjustment. If so, the cam 30 may be rotated to either raise or lower the support 18 containing the individual reservoirs, the result being that more or less paint is acquired by the discs as they rotate. In addition the knob 107 may be rotated to cause the housing with which it is associated, to be adjusted inwardly or outwardly of the conveyor 46 travel through passage 44. On the other hand, the discs on shaft 120 may be moved laterally of the passage 44 by rotation of the knob 142 to provide a disc adjustment at right angles to the adjustment thereof caused by displacement of the entire housing through rotation of the knob 107 on screw 106. Once these adjustments are made, the articles, as wafers W, on the conveyor pass through the passage 44 and have metalized paint applied in the notches thereof while passing by the groups of discs.

Even though only one embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is understood that the protection afforded will be measured by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a device to paint the walls of notches in the edge of a conveyed article, a group of movable paint applicators arranged at right angles to each other between which the articles are adapted to pass with a speed of translation equal to the movement of said applicators, paint reservoirs in which portions of said applicators are continually retained, and automatic means periodically operable to supply said reservoirs with charges of paint.

2. In a painting device, at least two groups of paint applicator discs spaced from each other to define an article passage therebetween, each group of discs having a support housing in which there is a shaft, said discs being disposed on said shaft, means for adjusting said shaft in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof to selectively adjust the location of said discs, means for adjusting said housing in a direction normal to said shaft axis to further adjust the location of said discs, and means operativeiy associated with said groups of discs to apply paint thereto.

3. The painting device of claim 2; said paint applying means including reservoirs in which portions of said discs are disposed, a paint supply tank, and means including a pump for drawing paint from said supply and moving it into said reservoirs.

4. In a painting device, four groups of painting discs arranged at right angles to each other and spaced apart to form an article passage through which conveyed articles are adapted to pass at which time they come in contact with all of the discs simultaneously, each group of discs being mounted on a shaft, a housing supporting said shaft, means for axially adjusting said shaft to move the discs thereon laterally relative to said passage, a power shaft having an end disposed in said housing, flexible driving means connecting said power shaft with the first mentioned shaft, means carried by said housing and reacting on said end of said power shaft for displacing said housing in such direction as to move the discs into and from said passage.

5. In a painting device, four groups of painting discs arranged at right angles to each other and spaced apart to form an article passage through which conveyed articles are adapted to pass at which time they come in contact with all of the discs simultaneously, each group of discs being mounted on a shaft, a housing supporting said shaft, means for axially adjusting said shaft to move the discs thereon laterally relative to said passage, a power shaft having an end disposed in said housing, flexible driving means connecting said power shaft with the first mentioned shaft, means carried by said housing and reacting on said end of said power shaft for displacing said housing in such direction as to move the discs into and from said passage, paint reservoirs in which said discs are rotatable, a paint inlet conduit opening through the bottom of each reservoir, and periodically operable means for sending a charge of paint through each conduit and into said reservoirs.

6. In a painting apparatus, a frame, four housings, means sldably hanging said housings on said frame, two of said housings being coplanar, the other two of said housings lying in a plane normal to the plane of the irst mentioned housings, each housing containing a shaft that has a portion exterior of its housing, groups of paint applicator discs disposed on said shaft portions, means operatively connected with each shaft for axially adjusting said shafts to set the position of the discs thereon, a exible drive assembly in each housing and drivingly connected with the shaft therein, a drive shaft in each housing and terminating in said housings, the drive assemblies being connected to said drive shafts, means carried by each housing and connected to each drive shaft for sliding said housings in a direction normal to the axis of rotation of their discs to further set the position of the discs.

7. In a painting apparatus, a frame, four housings, means sldably hanging said housings on said frame, two of said housings being coplanar, the other two of said housings lying in a plane normal to the plane of the iirst mentioned housings, each housing containing a shaft that has a portion exterior of its housing, groups of paint applicator discs disposed on said shaft portions, means operatively connected with each shaft for axially adjusting said shafts to set the position of the discs thereon, a exible drive assembly in each housing and drivingly connected with the shaft therein, a drive shaft in each housing and terminating in said housings, the drive assemblies being connected to said drive shafts, means carried by each housing and connected to each drive shaft for sliding said housings in direction normal to the axis of rotation of their discs to further set the position 'of the discs, a separate reservoir disposed contiguous to each group of discs, and means for supplying paint to said reservoirs.

8. In a painting apparatus, a frame, paint applicators arranged at right angles to each other to form an article passage therebetween, means supporting said applicators on said frame, a support, means connecting said support to said frame for vertical adjustment of the former, guides operatively connected with said frame and said support to constrain the movement of said support, and means carried by said support in which said paint applicators are located for supplying paint to said applicators.

9. In a painting apparatus, a frame, paint applicators arranged to form an article passage therebetween, means supporting said applicators on said frame, a support, means connecting said support to said frame for vertical adjustment of the former, guides operatively connected with said frame and said support to constrain the movement of said support, means carried by said support in which said paint applicators are located for supplying paint to said applicators, and combs disposed in said paint supplying means and having passages therein in which said applicators are operable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 201,322 Brandon Mar. 19, 1878 1,278,384 Reiff Sept. 10, 1918 1,568,605 Hough Jan. 5, 1926 

